Clayton Thorson

Clayton James Thorson (born June 15, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He played college football at Northwestern.

Clayton Thorson
No. 17 – New York Giants
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1995-06-15) June 15, 1995
Wheaton, Illinois
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school:Wheaton North (Wheaton, Illinois)
College:Northwestern
NFL Draft:2019 / Round: 5 / Pick: 167
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Reserve/Future
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early years

Thorson attended Wheaton North High School in Wheaton, Illinois. As a senior, he had 2,809 passing yards, 29 passing touchdowns, 630 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. He received All-area, All Conference and All-state honors.

In the playoffs against Fenwick High School, he guided his team to a 32-31 win, after coming back from a 6-31 second-quarter deficit, by tallying 413 passing yards and 5 touchdowns. He led his team to back-to-back state quarterfinals in his last two years. He was named MVP in Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl.[1]

College career

Thorson accepted a football scholarship from Northwestern University.[2][3] As a redshirt freshman in 2015, he took over the starting quarterback job that was left open after Trevor Siemian graduated.[4][5] He completed 150 of 295 passes for 1,522 passing yards, 7 touchdowns, 9 interceptions, 397 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns.[6][7] He became the first quarterback in school history to have 10 wins as a freshman and in his first season as a starter.

As a sophomore in 2016, the team lost its first two games against Western Michigan University and Illinois State University. He completed 280-of-478 passes for 3,182 yards (school record for sophomores), 22 passing touchdowns (school record), 5 rushing touchdowns (second on the team) and 5 interceptions.[8] He had career-high 352 passing yards and 3 passing touchdowns in a 45-17 win against Purdue University.

As a junior in 2017, he posted 2,844 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, 8 rushing touchdowns (second on the team) and 12 interceptions. He tore his right ACL in the 2017 Music City Bowl against the University of Kentucky, while making a reception on a trick play.[9]

As a senior in 2018, he was limited by his previous right knee injury, coming back with less than 8 months of recovery. On November 10, Thorson led the Cats to a 14-10 victory over the No. 21 ranked University of Iowa, earning Northwestern the 2018 Big Ten West title.[10] He finished with 3,183 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns, 15 interceptions and 9 rushing touchdowns (led the team).

His 53 consecutive starts at quarterback is the most ever in the Big Ten and tied for the most with Colt McCoy in all of the Power Five conferences, and over those 4 years Clayton set several Northwestern career records including wins (35), passing yards (10,731), completions (991) and passing touchdowns (61). He's the only quarterback in Big Ten history to pass for 10,000 yards and rush for 20 touchdowns in his career.[11]

Statistics
NCAA career statistics
Season Games Games
Started		 Record Passing Rushing
CompAttYardsAvgLngPct.TDIntQB ratingAttYardsAvgLngTD
2014
Redshirt
2015 131310–31502951,5225.26650.87995.91003974.0685
2016 13137–62804783,1826.75858.6229125.997981.0425
2017 131310–32624342,8446.65860.41512121.387230.3218
2018 14149-52994893,1836.56261.11715121.278-110-1.4239
Career 535336–17991169610,7316.36658.46145118.13624081.16827

Reference[12]

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Thorson was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round (167th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft.[13] He was waived during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019.[14]

Dallas Cowboys

On September 1, 2019, Thorson was signed to the Dallas Cowboys practice squad.[15] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Cowboys on December 31, 2019. He was waived on September 2, 2020.[16]

New York Giants

On September 29, 2020, Thorson was signed to the New York Giants' practice squad.[17] He was elevated to the active roster on December 5 and December 19 for the team's weeks 13 and 15 games against the Seattle Seahawks and Cleveland Browns, and reverted to the practice squad after each game.[18][19] He signed a reserve/future contract on January 4, 2021.[20]

Personal life

Thorson and his wife, Audrey, have been married since June 2018.[21][22]

References
  1. Narang, Bob (January 14, 2014). "Wheaton North quarterback Clayton Thorson named MVP of Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  2. Greenstein, Teddy (February 4, 2014). "Clayton Thorson heads Northwestern signing class". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  3. McGraw, Mike (September 30, 2015). "Calm, collected Thorson ready to go for Northwestern". Daily Herald. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  4. "Clayton Thorson named Northwestern starter". Sports Illustrated. August 27, 2015. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  5. Mitchell, Fred (September 3, 2015). "Northwestern's Clayton Thorson has shown resolve on road to starting QB job". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  6. Duber, Vinnie (August 15, 2016). "Big Ten preview: In Year 2 as starter, Clayton Thorson looks to improve Cats' passing game". NBC Sports. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  7. Haugh, David (August 23, 2016). "Clayton Thorson returns to Northwestern with more bite to his game". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  8. Bennett, Brian (March 28, 2017). "What is Northwestern's Clayton Thorson working on in spring practice?". ESPN. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  9. Greenstein, Teddy (July 2, 2018). "QB Thorson aiming to be ready for Wildcats' opener". saukvalley.com. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  10. "Northwestern football headed to first ever Big Ten Championship game". The Daily Northwestern=November 10, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  11. Spadaro, Dave. "Clayton Thorson out to win a spot in Eagles' QB room". philadelphiaeagles.com. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  12. "Clayton Thorson stats". www.sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  13. Teope, Herbie (April 27, 2019). "Eagles select QB Clayton Thorson with No. 167 pick". NFL.com. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  14. "Eagles announce roster moves as team gets to 53-player limit". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. August 31, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  15. Gallen, Daniel. "Philadelphia Eagles practice squad updates: Former Giants quarterback joins Eagles; Clayton Thorson joins Cowboys". Penn Live. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  16. Gantt, Darin (September 2, 2020). "Cowboys releasing quarterback Clayton Thorson". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  17. "RB Alfred Morris and QB Clayton Thorson added to practice squad; DB Madre Harper intends to sign Thursday". Giants.com. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  18. Eisen, Michael (December 5, 2020). "Giants elevate DE Niko Lalos, QB Clayton Thorson; sign QB Alex Tanney to practice squad". Giants.com. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  19. Eisen, Michael (December 19, 2020). "Roster moves: Giants add two quarterbacks, three DBs to active roster". Giants.com. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  20. Eisen, Michael (January 4, 2021). "Giants sign 2 free agents to renegotiated contracts; 13 players to reserve/future contracts". Giants.com.
  21. Greenstein, Teddy. "Strike up the band. Northwestern's Clayton Thorson is engaged". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  22. Greenstein, Teddy (April 24, 2019). "'Sleeper' & keeper?". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
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